Half to charles john badger



(No-Model.)

F. B. KRON.= RAILWAY SWITCH. No. 554,511. Patented 555.111.1895.

- Il |1.| l l l1 lll m/ m u -i1/IIJ n m l1l 5. E Y mam/a B ,/f .M f ,7 oi d F m M. m /W w M A 0 w (u 1 m 1 m M Vf n ...T uw@ m 0. n a W0/ J J1 3m 4/ 7 3 ,4u E, W wd F Il 1 1 UNITED STATES' APATENT OFFICE.

FREDERICK B. KRON, OF NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA, ASSIGNOR OF ONE- HALF TOCHARLES JOHN BADGER, OF SAME PLACE.

RAILWAY-SWITCH.

Y SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 534,511, datedFebruary 19,1895.

Application led October 13, 1894. Serial No. 525,785. (No model.)

To @ZZ whom it may concerns Be it known that I, FREDERICK B. KRON, ofNew Orleans, in the parish of Orleans and State'of Louisiana, haveinvented a new and Improved Railway-Switch, of which the following is afull, clear, and exact description.

My invention relates to improvements in railway switches and switchworking mechanism; and the object of my invention is to produce a switchand working mechanism therefor which are very cheap, very strong anddurable, which are arranged in such a way that the switch mechanism maylbe worked and the switch thrown from a rapidly moving train or carwithout decreasing the speed and Without danger of an accident.

A further object of my invention is to construct the apparatus in such away that it may be applied to railroads and worked from cars of allkinds, and also to arrange the mechanism so that by its movement to andf ro it will keep itself clear and unclogged.

To these ends my invention consists of certain features of constructionand combinations of parts, which will be hereinafter described andclaimed.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part ofthis specification, in which similar figures of reference indicatecorresponding parts in all the views.

Figure l is a broken side elevation, partly in section, of that portionof the switch-working mechanism which is carried by the car. Fig. 2 is aplan view of the switch and working mechanism. 3 is l'an inverted planview of the same. Fig. 4 is a cross section on the line 4-4 of Fig. 2;andFig. 5 is aplan view of a modified form of the apparatus.

The switch has th usual swinging switchv point 10, which is pivoted inthe ordinary manner at the junction of the main and sid' ing rails 11and 12, and the switch point moves in a recess 13 of the base plate lewhich is arranged on the roadbedbetween the rails and has a raisedcentralportion, as shown best in Fig. 4, its sides and ends incliningoutward and downward, as shown `at l5, while its side edges merge in themain rail 11. By having the central portion of thebase plate raised, asshown, it leaves the ends of the longitudinal slot 16 in the plateslightly higher than ing anything.

i the ordinary level of the roadbed, and hence the contact arm, whichwill be hereinafter described and which moves through the slot to workthe switch lever, may pass through at full speedwithout the least dangerof break- The slot 16 is preferably arranged in the center of the baseplate and the contact armin the corresponding position on the car, butof course the slot and arm may be placed at one side ifpreferredfwithout changing the principle of the invention.

The slot 16 is crossed at a slight angle by -the switch lever 17 whichis pivoted on the under sideof the base plate, as shown at 1S pointopen, but it is of course evident that the 'lever may be pivoted on theopposite side of the slot and the spring arranged to hold the switchpoint closed if preferred, or the lever may be used without a spring.

It will be seen that if an arm of any kind carried by the car passesthrough the slot 16, it will strike the lever 17 and push it to one sideso as to move the switch point, and after the arm passes the lever thespring 2l returns the lever and switch point to the first position. Thelever may be worked by any suitable mechanism on the car, but an arm 22shown in Fig. l is preferably used, this being vertically movable in anL-shaped guide bracket 23 which is fastened to the car bottom, and thearm extends upward into a case 24 and through a spiral spring 25 whichpresses the arm upward and holds it out of contact with the lever 17.The arm 22 has on one side a pin 26-which slides in a slot 27 of thecase 24,'

and to this pin is secured a cable 28 which extends downward around aguide pulley 29 on the bracket 23 and then upward and forward over guidepulleys'30 on the car door to a lug 3l on the foot bar 32, which ismovable up and down in' the floor, and is held in a casing 33 beneaththe car, the lug 31 moving in a longitudinal slot 34E of the casing. Bystepping on the foot bar 32 the latter is depressed, the cable 28 pulledand the arm 22 hauled down against the tension of the IOO spring 25which returns the arm when the pressure is removed from thefwoot bar32and thus it Will be seen that the arm may be readily moved downward whenit is desired to Work a switch. lVhen the arm is forced down, asspecified, it passes through the slot 1G, strikes the arm 17 and throwsthe switch.

In Fig. 5 I have shown a slightly modified form of the apparat'us whichmay be Worked by a rigid arm of the car and which employs an unslottedbase plate 35 on which is pivoted, as shown at 37, a triangular lever 36which connects with the switch point by the rod 2O like the lever 17above described, and by moving the lever 36 to the right or left theswitch point l0 may be opened or closed. Any suitable arm may be used toWork this lever 36 and with it a spring is unnecessary.

It Will be seen that there is nothing about the switch and the workingmechanism to get out of order and that the Working of the switch leverand switch point serves to prevent the said parts from becoming cloggedand unworkable.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secureby Letters Patentl. The combination with a switch point, of a base platehaving a raised and longitudinally slotted portion, a spring pressedlever having one end pivoted to the under side of the base and extendingdiagonally across the slot thereof, and a link pivot-ed to the lever andswitch point, substantially as described.

2. The combination with a switch point, of a base plate having a raisedand longitudinally slotted portion, a lever pivoted to the under side ofthe base at one side of the slot and extending diagonally across thesame, a

spring connected with the `lever and base plate, a keeper on the underside of the base and in which the free end of the lever Works, and alink pivoted to the lever and switch point, substantially as described.

The combination with the switch point, of a base plate having a raisedcentral portion and inclined sides and ends, one side merging into oneof the main rails, and the raised central portion being longitudinallyslotted, a lever pivoted on the under side of the base and extendingacross the slot thereof, a link connecting the lever with the switchpoint, and a spring connected to the lever and to the base plate,substantially as -herein shown and described.

4t. The combination with a car, ot' an L- shaped guide bracketprojecting down from the oar, a slotted case on the under side of thecar and projecting down to within a short distance of the horizontalmember of the bracket, an arm Working in the case and projecting downthrough an aperture in the horizontal member of the saidbracket, saidarm being provided with a pin projecting through the slot of the case, aspring in the case for holding the arm raised, guide pulleys on theunder side of the carand on the guide bracket, a vertically sliding footbar on the car, and a cable passing over the guide pulleys and securedto the foot bar and to the pin of the arm, substantially as herein'shownand described.

FREDERICK B. KRON.

W'itnesses:

J. T. BURKE, PERCY DUNCAN.

